Quality and maintenance on Englander pellet stoves

[matt6300]

I am looking for a mid-level wood stove. Any comments from Englander, Summers Heat or Timberline stove owners would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[little_hawk_59]

i have had my englanderd 25-pdv for 10 years going on 11 replaced two aguer motors both blower and all gaskets other than that runs great. keep it clean and it runs great

 

[Topshelf]

Just picked up my stove in August / September. I have a Timberidge 49-TRC22 multifuel stove.It has been up and running since mid September.
I picked mine up through Andy off of Ebay and they have free shipping which inmy book is a huge plus. Send me a PM and I will give you some tips if your interested.

Anyway, Pro's ad Cons

Pros: Price, engineered well in my opinion. Normal maintaince is easy. Works well as long as you keep it clean. Hopper holds two bags. looks decent. The wife who is technically challeneged can keep it going with little instruction while I'm on the road for business. I'm happy as can be.

Cons: Auger is Noisy! Also the auger seems to jam a lot on fines if you dont vacuum the hopper every three or four bags. It might just be the pellets I have or is fairly normal for the average dollar stove? I have PelletPro hardwood pellets. I have also burned a couple bags of corn with great results.

I would buy another one.

 

[rottiman]

Have had my stove since september. Burned about 65 bags thru it so far. Excellent value for the money. Isn't the fanciest but as has been mentioned, keep it clean and it just purrs along. Their customer service is absolutely first class. They are most helpful and always very friendly. Everybody may have their favorite, but dollar for dollar I don't think you can beat any of the Englander products. IMO.

 

[Panhandler]

Burning 25-PDVC/55-SHP10. In 5th season. As other posters mentioned, not the prettiest stove. First class customer support, especially reading some problems with dealers on here recently. Props to the class dealers on this site that try to help. In my opinion, the price of Englanders ($1000 to $1200 for entry models) would be hard to beat combined with their tech support. I just wish I had found this site a couple years earlier. I just found it in August of '08.The one thing I didn't like was the 40 lb hopper which I solved by making a hopper extension which hold an additional 45 to 50 lbs. Pellet stoves don't seem to be real popular in my area and I don't have a lot of choices for pellets. Would love to try some of the brands I hear about on this forum. Never had an auger jam, fines aren't a problem.

 

[HD41]

This is my third season with my Englander 25PDVC and I am satisfied with the performance and reliability. I didn't catch on right away about the need to scrape the carbon from the end of the auger tube to keep it from squeaking. You ask about reliability but don't mention much about planned placement of your stove and expectations. A pellet stove must be considered a space heater and it takes time to bring a cold room up to temperature. Some people expect a pellet stove to radiate heat like a wood stove and blame the stove (I had these thoughts). There can be startup problems with most any stove. Not to say that all pellet stoves are equal but I see posts by satisfied and unsatisfied users of nearly every brand. I do believe Englander has an edge on customer service especially for a do it your selfer.

 

[sydney1963]

I love my stove, second season. Not the prettiest but customer service is #1 and I haven't had any problems so far. Keep it clean and it'll keep you warm.

 

[teetah222]

Have only had my Summers Heat for a few months, but it's working great, and it's attractive too. Got one of the newer models as you can see in my avatar.

 

[kcow]

I have had my Englander about 3 years and nothing but trouble Constantly replacing auger motors and blower motors. I have a friend who bought the same model, same time and same thing! Problems!!

 

[geek]

the stove requires more maintenance than my Quad (much more), I have to empty/clean the burn pot daily as well as the soot on the glass (no matter the brand of the pellet), it is noisier than the Quad.
Their customer service is top.

 

[imacman]

I have the multi-fuel 10-cpm that I bought from Andy on ebay (that TopShelf mentioned above). That was a GREAT deal, and Andy is a good guy to work with. I've put about 2 tons through mine so far, and no problems to report at all.

I agree that the original PDV & PDVC stoves are pretty "Plain Jane" looking, but they work well for the $, and the customer service is second to none.

And speaking of looks (and design), the stove I have, and also the new Evolution pellet stove that they came out with are nice looking stoves, IMO.
Here's mine:

 

[Garry P]

Love my 25PDVC....6+ years old and running strong.

 

[yknotcarpentry]

Have been burning mine for 2 1/2 years, love it and no problems what so ever, cleaning is key to the success but it is easy. I also have a breckwell big E, which I have been letting stand idle temporarily as the englander does the job on its own.... I could have picked either/or but the englander was my choice to run even though the hopper is smaller and it does require more frequent cleanings..... I just feel it puts out more heat even though its a smaller "rated" stove

 

[kcow]

You say cleaning is the key, what kind of cleaning are you referring to? We clean the ash etc daily. What kind of pellets are you using? The other problem I have had with my Englander 25 is it will only burn hard wood pellets without creating tons of ash! Hard wood pellets are nice but $150 more per ton I have a friend with the Breckwell Big E, he burns the cheap pellets and no problems!! My other friends swear by Harmon and Quad Fire. I may be switching soon; too many problems and too many people I know with the same problems.

 

[yknotcarpentry]

General ash cleaning, scraping auger tube, brushing out the vent pipe, etc the normal stuff that has to be done for both stoves... this year I have been through 3 tons of spruce points, yes the ash was realatively high (in both stoves) but the heat was great, For the last week I have been going the big box route and getting bags until I order a couple more tons. Lowes has somersets which have been great for heat output, ash I would say is equal to the S. Points but there's generally small clinkers in there. HD has had penningtons, big ash, big clinkers, low heat. I haven't burned these in the big E this year to compare but last year I had a ton of fireside ultras and they were huge ash/clinkers. Had to scoop em out alot in the englander, In the breckwell it would fill up the pot so fast it would just shut the stove down. I don't really know much as to the Harmon/Quads but read alot about them on here. I just feel that the heat is better from the englander than the Big E. It feels more "intense" when both are set at lower settings. Of course I know I could crank up the Big E and really get some major heat but then I am blowing through pellets like to no end. (for instance, If I filled the hopper up 80+ #'s heat setting 2 would last about 2 1/2 days, Just going up one setting to 3 the hopper needed to be filled within 24 hrs.) with the englander' -40 # hopper I can have it on setting 3 and go for 14 hrs or so and then If I go to setting 2 with how I have it adjusted burn even longer.. this is just purely how things have worked out for me...

 

[smwilliamson]

the stove requires more maintenance than my Quad (much more), I have to empty/clean the burn pot daily as well as the soot on the glass (no matter the brand of the pellet), it is noisier than the Quad.
Their customer service is top.

I have to agree. Englander has very good customer service. Their stoves are simple but will require parts. Get a secondary auger motor, $140.00, the lower auger will fail within 5 years as it is always turning. Very easy to replace. PelPro from Danson is good little stove too.

I like the performance of big name brands but finding parts mid-season is tough at times.

Not sure of the pricing but Vista Flame is an exact copy of Enviro made by the same people and can be bought online for less than an Enviro.

Breckwell makes a pretty good little stove for the money and parts are easy to source.

Aside from one customer of mine, I like the performance and simplicity of Quads, especially the roar of the fire, but you will pay more.

 

[imacman]

You say cleaning is the key, what kind of cleaning are you referring to? We clean the ash etc daily. What kind of pellets are you using? The other problem I have had with my Englander 25 is it will only burn hard wood pellets without creating tons of ash! Hard wood pellets are nice but $150 more per ton I have a friend with the Breckwell Big E, he burns the cheap pellets and no problems!! My other friends swear by Harmon and Quad Fire. I may be switching soon; too many problems and too many people I know with the same problems.

Yes, cleaning is the key. Just cleaning out the ash from the firepot/firebox daily isn't even needed, but can't hurt. But your blaming the stove for the ash problem. News flash!...the stove doesn't "make" ash, the pellets you are using do. You've complained about your stove twice in this same thread, but say nothing of what type of "real" cleaning you do ( I'm guessing a poor one), and never say what type of pellets you use, what kind of exhaust pipe set-up you have, or the altitude your at (since your in Co that might be important).

As for "it will only burn hardwood pellets", that's nonsense. And I'd be interested in seeing the place that sells softwood pellets for, say, $200/ton, and also sells hardwood pellets at $350/ton.

I think your making things up, and really don't know how to run/clean/maintain your stove. I'll bet that any stove you buy will end-up having the same problems.

 

[Trophy_67]

We have the Englander "summers heat" 55-SHPAH..utility stove ..with its Generous 120lb. hopper.
Now she isnt the Purdiest Gal @ the Ball, is kinda loud when she is blowin out the AWESOME heat she makes....she wont TURN A HEAD OR TWO in any way ...BUT for form an function..?..we love HER
This mornin it was ZERO here in the armpit of the world in central Pennsylvania.....but the livin room is 72 the kitchen more like 82 and that is on a setting of 4 for burn rate and 6 for blower speed ..she is currently burnin right at 1 bag/day of yellow pine soft wood pellets with very littlle ash in a 24 hr. period.
My better half shuts it down each mornin when she goes to do her hair for work knowin I will be home in 30 or 40 minutes ..when I get home the unit has went through its shut down cycle and when i get there I open the door and plug in my Shop Vac ..sweep out the innards,vac & scrape the pot real quick toss some fresh pellets in the pot an reinstall it (makes start up faster), top off the hopper with a fresh bag, hit the glass with some windex and paper towels to make her clean close the door and hit ON.
by the time i get outta my work clothes and the unit has re-lit and makin a strong flame, all of abought 15 minutes have passed an I wont touch it agin until the next day.
SO MY REVIEW ...5 STARS!
WOULD BUY ANOTHER TOMORROW!
Just my 2 Pennies.
Tim

 

[Phatty]

bought mine used over the summer(she's an 04) came with pellets. after some reading and adjusting (the old owner had the 3 lower settings on 9,9,3)she is putting out great heat its 14 °F out right now and its 70 °F in my lower rooms the upper rooms are a bit cool but thats ok .the gas company wants in to replace my meter (they think its broken ) i dump the burn pot every 24 hrs and shes using 1 bag of pellets every 24 hrs . id buy another one in a heart beat


just my 1/2 cent

 

[imacman]

bought mine used over the summer(she's an 04) came with pellets. after some reading and adjusting (the old owner had the 3 lower settings on 9,9,3)she is putting out great heat its 14 °F out right now and its 70 °F in my lower rooms the upper rooms are a bit cool but thats ok .the gas company wants in to replace my meter (they think its broken ) i dump the burn pot every 24 hrs and shes using 1 bag of pellets every 24 hrs . id buy another one in a heart beat

Phatty, how long have you had the stove? The previous owner obviously had no idea how to run it......is that why he sold it....it didn't "work" right?

Glad you brought it "back to life". If their kept clean, and adjusted right, they are a good burning unit.

Too funny about the gas company...LOL

 

[Phatty]

i bought the stove in july, it came with 2 tons of cubex pellets .the way the stove was set up i pissed thru the first ton in no time.after reading here i think i heated the out doors .the second ton went in the mulch pile they were all wet. ive been burning 8 bags of different pellets penningtons,cubex,corinth and presto logs. not sure what im gonna burn but i gotta make up my mind and get a ton or 2

 

[packerfan]

Mine has been running good for me. There is a link to an Englander stove review in my signature that you may wish to check out. They also provide great customer support. If you are looking at Englanders, now may be a great time to purchase one as many of the big box stores have them on sale. You may get lucky and find one for half price!

 

[flowercat]

Have owned an Englander PDVC for a few years now and it runs great and keeps the house warm in a colder climate. Has many of the same features of a more expensive stove. Some new companies out there selling stoves and some have already gone out of business. The 25 PDVC type stove has been in use for many years and I have read about some users that have used them for a decade or more. Based on the price and functionality it was the best buy.